McDermott: Trends in Offshore Oil & Gas - GineersNow GineersNow Engineering Magazine Issue No. 021, McD | Page 25

Therefore, even as green energy technologies are
fast developing, Gates called on his readers to
feed in thousands more of new ideas, “even ones
that might sound a little crazy”. He called to mind
Thomas Edison, who “successfully found 10,000
ways that would not work”. He said that in order
to find thousands of ideas that would not work,
people have to try thousands of ideas, and in his
opinion, this was not happening at present.
He also called upon governments to spark new
advances, much like what they had done for other
scientific research, like cancer treatment, outer
space travel and the Internet.
Gates recognized that energy research and
transition to new energy sources takes decades,
so he urged stakeholders to roll up their sleeves
now.
Let us be the “miracle”
There’s no denying the enormous magnitude
of the energy problem that our world currently
faces. But, as big as the gap is the opportunity
that comes with it. If the world successfully finds
a viable solution to the energy challenges and to
the other issues that branch out of them, it would
change the lives of millions of the world’s poorest
people.
To close his letter, Gates sounded his optimism,
as he said that he remained positive for he had
seen “miracles” happen before. He said “miracles”
did not happen by chance; they were products
of research and development, and the human
capacity to innovate. “I’m so optimistic about the
world’s ability to make a miracle happen that I’m
willing to make a prediction,” he said. “Within the
next 15 years—and especially if young people get
involved—I expect the world will discover a clean
energy breakthrough that will save our planet and
power our world.”
Like Gates, we have all witnessed “miracles” at
some point in our lives. Who would have thought
that we can watch people and events through a
box with a screen? That we can put a computer
inside our pockets? That we can speak to our
loved ones thousands of miles away in real time?
That people will get cured of previously incurable
diseases? Without prejudice to religion, I say that
we humans can make “miracles” happen. There’s
no better time than now. And if it’s not much to
ask, can we be the “miracle”?